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Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Fine...I'll be one of those people that talks about my dogs too much. Scratch that, I already am one of those people, I'm finally putting it in print so you don't have to think it. Jason leaves for work sometime around 6. He knows about my Peanut Plot, so this morning he dropped him into my bed where Lilly and I were sleeping as he walked out the door. Uhhh, I think he forgot to tell Peanut that he wasn't dropping him off for tap dancing classes. That dog ran in a circle for about the first 45 minutes (considering his size, I figure one lap around the queen equaled a track for you or I). I didn't have the heart to put him down, and I didn't have the energy to go get him a toy. He then proceeded to tap dance his way up and down me....and Lilly. For about five minutes he found a little stuffed ballerina in a pink tutu. She has really attractive yarn hair, and a tiara, and he nibbled on her tutu for a few minutes, but my hair must have tasted better because he spent more time dragging pieces out to sample. Then it was back to marathon training, and toe/ball/hill/exchange/shuffle/shuffle/step/step....it's only cute b/c he weighs three pounds. Otherwise I might be reconsidering my Peanut Plot. I was trying to drag the covers out from under Lilly so I could hide, she wasn't cooperating. Regardless of my rocky morning, he's still about the cutest thing that ever tap danced in my bed at 6 am.

Monday, April 27, 2009

I attended Cindy's bridal shower with some other gals from church yesterday at the Bent Tree Country Club. Everything was beautiful, including the bride-to-be. (And the cupcakes were delicious!) I had the privilege of watching Cindy and Cliff meet, and fall in love in Sunday School/and fellowship activities. They have a really sweet story, and a Godly relationship that has been inspiring a lot of singles at the church. I look forward to watching their influence grow as they begin married life in June!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Look who moved in! His boy (also known as my brother) is soon to follow for a few months (she says with her fingers crossed). So far everyone is getting along well, though we aren't all quite potty trained, and I have one less inch of carpet, and we all have found we hear in higher octaves than we originally thought.....it's a good thing that trouble comes in such a cute package, I'll leave you to fill in the blanks. ;o)

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

My buddy Amber and I headed up to Tennessee last Thursday after work. We both had friends to visit in the Nashville/Clarksville area. We stopped about four hours away from our destination on Thursday night after a long day of driving (and coming up with corny travel jokes). I finished the drive Friday morning. We made one quick stop at the Casey Jones Village. You can pick up your Elvis memorabilia AND sample their candy counter treats all in one stop. Life's Important QuestionsSo Maybe You Shouldn't Shop With Us, We Make ScenesI dropped Amber off in Nashville to spend the weekend with a college friend. I thought this park (our meeting point) was pretty funny. 'The Parthenon'....I wonder who thought up this city planning concept?I then headed to Clarksville to visit my pal, Regan. We spent the weekend catching up, hanging out, eating candy, scrapbooking, cooking, watching movies, and visiting downtown Clarksville for a festival they were hosting over the weekend: Rivers and Spires. There are a lot of rivers, and churches in the downtown area-go figure. We ate our way through the festival. They also had wine vendors from TN wineries with samples you could try out. Regan's church was hosting the event, so she sampled, and I supervised. And there lies the difference between a Baptist and an Episcopalian. :O) I also got a lesson in making bullets from her husband. We bonded. On Sunday I picked Amber up in Nashville (by the way, the drive from Clarksville to Nashville is very pretty), and I made the 13 hour trip (12 if you cut out the excursion to Nashville) in one long go.

Monday, April 20, 2009

At the beginning of last week, I got free tickets to see a game. The Ranger's ended up losing, and I can't recommend the hot dogs (any longer, so sad). How do you make the products that go into making a hot dog 'worse' than usual? BUT, it was a beautiful night, you can't get better than free, and it was good to see 'the guys' playing again. They have the rest of the season to start moving back up the rankings. :O)

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Nycki passed away this afternoon. The ministers from her family's church were praying for her at her bedside when she passed, and I am so grateful they were able to be with her and the family during this time.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

I am so sad to be writing this. I didn't think I would have to write this. Over the last week Nycki has been improving in baby steps. Each day there was something new to be excited about. She has remained on life support, but it seemed that there were steps that were now laid out to getting better. I couldn't believe it. I know God is still a miracle worker, and I was so amazed to be watching one of these unfold in front of me. She has remained heavily sedated, and unable to do much, though she has brought peace to those that have visited with her with a rare smile, or a squeeze of the hand, and even a nod of the head. I looked forward into the future, and I wondered how God would weave this into her life as she recovered, who she would be, what she could do. Today, I found out that this is the end of the road here on earth for Nycki, and it will be those that surround her that will be carrying forward and sharing her story. To make a long story short, there are three organs that would need to be transplated, and in her condition, and with the instant need, this will not be possible. They have slowly begun to remove the life support. She may not be here in the morning, and she will not make it through tomorrow, according to the doctors. I pray that she will enter Heaven today. I pray that she leaves peacefully and finds a perfect body, no more pain, and a perfect welcome, and knows we are all headed up there and so excited about celebrating with her, and loving her as sisters and brothers in Christ. I pray for her family, and in particular her son, his protection, and for Godly people to enter his life. I pray that God can use Jason to comfort him and guide him. I know Jason has been groomed through his life experiences to be a mentor, and I'm praying for strength for him, and the will to take these lessons learned and be the man God calls him to be on the long road ahead. I know God's timing is perfect. I know God's plan is perfect. Sometimes it is so hard to explain life this side of heaven, and we just accept it through faith in a loving God.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

My Easter dessert is now ready for those chocolate bowls. I made cake chunks (a regular cake mix, with a package of pudding added to increase the flavor wow factor), 'mousse' made with instant chocolate pudding, one cup of milk, and one container of whipped cream, whipped cream dollops, and chocolate chunks, all piled in a bowl. I'm a fan. I also tried my hand at 'wheat, honey, bunny bread'....I'm going to need to revisit this next year, all the pieces of my bunnies expanded into one big, mishapped bunny blob, with few bunny features....oh well. Dessert is the important stuff anyway!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Easter Dessert Bowls are ready! I found the recipe for these bowls surfing the internet. This is the site I found it on (with detailed instructions):
http://www.stephanieskitchen.com/2009/02/chocolate-bowls.html
Basically, you blow up balloons to about 3-4 inches (depending on how much you like dessert, the bigger the bowl, the more you can put inside). Then you melt chocolate in a bowl, dip the 'top' of the balloon in the bowl, rest it on a tray and let it harden in the fridge. (I think if I used water balloons this would have gone a little bit smoother.) Then, cut/pop the balloon, and you are left with a chocolate bowl. I found the 'thicker' the layers of chocolate, the sturdier the bowl as you were peeling the balloon out. I had one chocolate casualty. I'm filling mine with mousse, and toppings. There are a million cute Easter ideas, what great 'nest' these would be....but I just want chocolate, lots, and lots of chocolate. Pictures to come later of the finished dessert, and the bigger clothes I'll need to buy once I eat it.

It was time to try some place new: I've been passing the Crescent Hotel for years,and I always think it's so pretty with all the iron work, fountains, and gas lanterns. I've also always wondered about the Palomino Restaraunt located in the shopping area on the bottom floor of the hotel. Sure, the chain is all over the country, but I've never been, and so today, I went. It's so easy to go the same old places you 'know' you like, and I'm glad I broke out of my restaurant mold. It was yummy. I recommend the brick oven pizza.

Thursday, April 09, 2009

You should not read the following post if you love surfing for fun sites. Kelly told me about the following site: www.stumbleupon.com You go to the site, and it creates a little button on your icon bar at the top of your screen. You complete a survey about what you like, and then you click 'stumble' and it takes you to all these random sites with games, blogs, stories, pictures, newstories, cute shopping sites....oh, it's torture! There is a buttom next to the stumble button with a thumbs up, or a thumbs down, and if you like it, you hit the thumbs up, and they will go to more sites like those you like, and save it in your data base so you can visit again, or vise versa. I could stumble around on the internet all day with that little button. So, what I'm saying is, don't go to www.stumbleupon.com if you know what's good for you!

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

What's a day without a diaper cake? I think I've officially made more diaper cakes than 'real cakes' over the past year. I'm done....for awhile. If I had only bought stock in Pampers! I made this one for my Mom to take to a coworker, and another one that looks suspiciously like another one I made I'll eventually post a picture of when I give it away. Can you guess the gender of this gal's baby? I'm all about pink. FrontBack

This weekend I went to Ennis to see the bluebonnets along the highways (Ennis is located between I-45 and I-35). They are up and down most of the highways and roads right now, but there is a particular area around Ennis where they grow in abundance. You can go to the city website and see where the blooms are on a weekly basis, and they even include maps, and written directions from one spot to another. http://www.visitennis.org/Festivals/Bluebonnet_Trails.htmlIt looked like there were some cute little shops, soda fountains etc in downtown Ennis as well, and in two weeks they host a bluebonnet festival....I didn't know! Supposedly, they are the best the weekend of the festival, but they were pretty incredible this past weekend. I went to all three locations listed on their city website, but the field with the largest spread was exit 353 off of I-45 (right after the Galaxy Drive-In). You hop off the exit, turn right at the first small road, and the field is on your left. You can't miss it, and there is space on the shoulder to pull over. I could not even begin to capture the sheer number of blooms, and how pretty they all were.....I think you just have to go see for yourself. Does it get any prettier than Texas Highways in the spring? No!

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

There are a list of things I can't do that I am always thinking about, and I am constantly reminding myself I have the skills necessary to BE Christy, but it's still difficult because I long for those other talents. Singing, for instance. As I told my lunch buddies the other day, I'm pretty sure someday I'm just going to be in charge of clapping in the heavenly choir. And then there are those people I marvel at with green thumbs. Every year I am determined that THIS year will be when I conquer my yard. I love the idea of a beautiful lawn and garden. 2009 brings about a new approach. Forget the whole yard, my goal is just to conquer two potted plants. I've always WANTED to be someone who has a green thumb. I can't tell you how many plants I've bought over the years, but whatever the number is, that is also equal to the number of plants I've killed. I am a truly talented weed grower. I'm also especially good at fattening up dogs, but feeding plants? Forget it. Grass, bushes, vegetables, and trees elude me. A few years back I grew a bean. I took it's picture, and then promptly forgot about it. This year, I bought two more things. Unfortunately, I have little sun in my yard, so I figured this way I can chase the sun around with my two little pots, and dump some water on them every few days, and maybe I'll get a little something out of the mix. I chose basil. I figured it would be great to grow my own herbs because I'm always purchasing them at the store, but when I thought about it, this was the only herb I could think of more than one meal I use it for. I also got a cherry tomato plant. I don't even like tomatoes very much, so why did I get these? Because it's mini tomatoes, how cute are miniture things? Here's hoping....::Insert More Basil Leaves Here Someday::::Insert Cute Cherry Tomatoes Here Someday::

7 years ago today Lilly rescued me. I found her at the Home and Garden Show in Dallas at an SPCA booth. I was about to close on my house, and Max and I knew we needed a girl to complete the pack, and we wanted one from a shelter. I saw her, and I bought her. I've been one of those obnoxious people who tells lots of dog stories ever since! I do not understand how people function without dogs.

Sunday, April 05, 2009

How do you take a high calorie dessert and make it more deliciously, bad for you? Fry it. This Saturday was the opening day of Scarborough Faire, and I attended (in shorts in a t-shirt, no surprise, I'm not into 'acting,' but I've always enjoyed watching other's role play). I go for the fryed ice cream (I can't explain the spelling). My favorite 'outfit' this year was actually a tshirt a little toddler had on that said 'Dragon Bait.' I like that humor. It was a really pretty day to walk around the grounds, watch shows, and people watch. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the food and the activities were reasonably priced.

Friday, April 03, 2009

Thanks for those who are praying for Nycki. She is still on life support in the ICU. Everyone was glad that things have at least been stable over the last few days, but today her white blood cell counts were high, which is a sign the infection was getting worse. The hospital has adjusted some medicine. In the medical world, none of this is good news. I still believe God is in the miracle business, and I know that despite any medic's statistics, if God wills it, she can get better. Please continue to pray for strength for all that love, and care for Nycki, and for her recovery. I pray to see those prayers at work in Nycki's life, and I already see them at work in the live's of those around her finding strength where the world would have none, but God has provided.

Tonight my friend Mary took Sonia and I to see the Vocal Majority-a barbershop singing group. There are about 125 men who take part in the chorus, and they are pretty impressive! Singing talent is not something I possess, so I'm always in awe of peopole who can make things beautiful with a song! Their show this year was Broadway Music.

I have to share my favorite find of the day. My cousin, Jimmy wrote a song for his little girl, Blythe Anne (due in just a few short weeks!). Check it out, the link is on Jimmy, and Lydia's blog, and it's the second song. Both songs are great, I always love a Jimmy original. She's a lucky little girl to have Dad out here writing down his love, and searching out God's will for him as a dad-in-waiting.

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

I saw these Easter Pops here: http://bakerella.blogspot.com/2009/03/spring-chickens.html I had some cake balls left over from my last batch, and some yellow chocolate for an upcoming shower (guess I'll be going back to the store for a little more). My chicks are not as smooth as the examples, and I used the hard shell candy kisses, and two brown sprinkles for eyes instead of the other supplies in the directions, but they are still pretty cute little Chicken Cake Pops....and yummy, per usual.